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American Water Tries to Rebuild Public Trust, Gives Credits to Local Businesses & Residents

May 24, 2018February 6, 2014

For good reason, West Virginians are still skeptical about using tap water. In fact, many residents, restaurants, and businesses are still relying on bottled water. Well aware of this skepticism, West Virginia American Water is trying to rebuild public trust by giving certain small business customers breaks on their water bills.

According to officials from American Water, the company's filters and water are functioning properly after the spill. Still - and perhaps because of public perception - American Water announced plans on Monday to replace filters. These filters had successfully filtered the MCHM that had leaked from Freedom Industries on January 9th before the system became overwhelmed and the water supply contaminated.

As part of their plan to reimburse customers, West Virginia American Water will be providing a 2,000-gallon credit to small businesses. The credit is worth about $20.58 per water bill and is intended to compensate businesses for having to run faucets to clean out their systems, as well as for the health department cleaning requirements businesses had to comply with in order to reopen. The credit applies to more than 5,200 affected small businesses and will cost American Water $1 million.

American Water also announced that residents throughout the nine affected counties will receive a 10,000-gallon credit - equivalent to roughly 10 days of normal water use. The company will begin applying credits this week.

While the water credit is welcomed by many, the fact remains that many West Virginia business and restaurant owners - especially small, local operations - have already suffered tremendous financial losses by having to remain closed and by having to rely on using bottled water. At Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC, our West Virginia lawyers are prepared to help restaurant owners and employees who would like to learn more about recovering their losses. For a FREE consultation, call (888) 720-1001.